Datalink Integration & Test Engineer – Communications / MANET

As a Datalink Integration & Test Engineer, you will play a key role in bringing together complex software systems that power next generation autonomous platforms. Your mission is to take established, proven MANET radio systems and make them work reliably, repeatably, and under real-world constraints inside unmanned platforms, owning the path from commercial radio to integrated, tested, mission-ready datalink.

What you'll do

• Integrate established MANET / mesh radio systems into STARK's platform architecture across mechanical, power, RF, and network/software interfaces.
• Define and implement integration approaches for each datalink — antenna placement, RF front-end, IP networking, and interfacing with autopilot and payload stack.
• Integrate and configure the UAV-to-GCS command-and-control link, ensuring reliable telemetry, control, and video across the full mission profile.
• Set up and tune multi-node mesh topologies that enable UAV-to-UAV connectivity and coordinated swarm operation of multiple effectors.
• Design and execute structured test campaigns — bench, hardware-in-the-loop, and field trials — to validate datalink behaviour.
• Characterise link performance across throughput, latency, range, mesh routing behaviour, and resilience under interference and degraded conditions.
• Build repeatable test procedures and instrumentation, producing clear, traceable documentation of setups, methods, and results.

What you'll need

• Professional background in Electronics / Communications Engineering or comparable technical field.
• Hands-on experience integrating MANET / mesh radio or tactical datalink systems into a larger platform or system.
• Practical test and measurement experience (spectrum analysers, RF link testing, network diagnostics).
• Solid grounding in RF fundamentals and antenna/propagation basics.
• Strong understanding of IP networking, routing, and the OSI model as it applies to mesh and point-to-point links.
• Comfortable working in Linux networking environments and debugging at the hardware/software boundary.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Must be a citizen of a NATO member state (due to export control and security regulations).

Nice to have

• Hands-on experience with specific MANET vendor ecosystems and their management/config tooling.
• Knowledge of tactical datalink bands, waveforms, FHSS, and encryption.
• Scripting / embedded experience (Python, C++) for test automation and instrumentation.